Leader: Cassandre Chatonnier
Location: Room 7-425, 7th Floor – John Molson Building, 1450 Rue Guy
Concordia University
In-Person Session
Theatrical design is often taught with a traditional, hierarchical approach. In such a process, the scenographic creation of a theatrical production consists of thinking and designing the design elements even before the actors begin rehearsals, or in parallel with them, and according to the director’s unique vision. This model generally leaves less room for co-creation or exploration by the students. The other gap that affects theater education is the lack of participation of different voices of diversity, whether those of LGBTQIA+ people, people from culturally diverse backgrounds, or aboriginal people.
We believe that a greater diversity of approaches would be beneficial to the student’s educational journey, both in terms of personal engagement and preparation for the workplace. Last school year, Cassandre was fortunate enough to obtain funding for teacher mobility for the “horizontal processes in scenography” pedagogical project. She went to the Quadriennale in Prague to learn about other processes in scenographic creation, more participative towards all team members and more inclusive towards diversity. In this workshop, she will propose different practices for creating and teaching scenography in a more collaborative way, thanks to various exercises drawn from her own practice as well as her experiences at the Quadriennale, including ecoscenography, feminist scenography and queer scenography.
Participants may be scenographers, scenography teachers, directors, researchers or actors interested in the practice of scenography. No prior preparation is required.
Cassandre Chattonier
A graduate of the Ecole Boulle in “space design” (Paris), Cassandre Chatonnier moved to Quebec in 2008, where she was able to specialize in theatrical set design thanks to a Bachelor’s degree in “Design For The Theatre” from Concordia University. Since graduating, she has worked as a set designer, researcher and teacher. With a background in interior design, Cassandre’s work is heavily influenced by architecture. She is also interested in the actor’s relationship with space, and the different ways in which this can feed into her design practice. She holds a Master’s degree in theater from UQAM on this subject, graduating with honors. She now holds a doctorate in Urban Studies from INRS. Her thesis explores the relationship between indigenous performance and the appropriation of space, and the co-creation of a methodology for rethinking urban public spaces through dance.